Tony Zambito describes from his blog The Digital Buying Persona how much B to B sales has changed. His description of the importance of having a salesperson in the process is something very obvious to me. However as stated in an earlier post buyers have different expectations of what that salesperson needs to bring to the table.
It's not really possible given the complexity of any technology or service offering today for a buying organization to know how to connect an outside solution back to their business challenges. It's just too complicated and there are too many options.
Salespeople today must operate as consultants rather than just describing the features and benefits of their product. That's now marketing's job using online content strategies. Given this situation it makes sense that companies hire subject matter experts and an inside sales team to drive them leads.
Anybody who has worked in sales for more than a few months knows this will not work. Great salespeople add another component. It takes a fearless determination to probe for the critical information that will drive success, navigate complex politics and emotions, and never give up in the face of continuous rejection and obstacles.
The typical subject matter expert does not possess that skill set.
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